Norm Challenger, Dog Whisperer, Life-long Learner, Balance Seeker, Bad Dancer, Research Master

As someone who has sat in the other seat, counseling is more to me than just my profession. I've lived the experience of carrying pain and trauma from the past while feeling stuck in survival mode.  The decision to commit to my healing process and allow my pain the space to be felt was absolutely life-changing. With the support of a few kind souls along my journey, I learned to explore my vulnerabilities with compassionate curiosity rather than judgment. I decided to end the war I had been waging within myself for so long and instead became friends with the parts of myself that I once didn’t understand. I now embrace feeling the world around me very deeply because that's who I am, and I give myself permission to be "unapologetically" me.

I tend to view life as a grand adventure, one in which I hope to never stop learning and growing. I know what matters to me and strive for congruence in my life. I believe that setting boundaries is one of our best tools for creating this congruence and protecting our inner peace. I value honesty, both with others and within oneself, and feel this is essential in establishing trust. I am also an advocate that we can hold ourselves accountable even when it's hard without having to sacrifice self-compassion.  Within our counseling relationship, I hope to support you in leaning into the discomfort as you discover the gift of exploring your pain without judgment. We can work together to discover your most authentic self, what is most important for you, and real measurable ways to see this change manifest in your life outside our sessions.

I have a very free inner child these days and hope to always keep my sense of wonder.  Laughter is the thing I love most.  Whether it's enjoying the warmth of another's laugh, cracking up over a bad pun, or having the tendency to laugh when things don’t go according to plan, I love this simple but powerful human experience.  I'm a country girl at my roots and carry with me many lessons from my days in the saddle. Animals have a lot they can teach us about life when we are willing to listen. I love camping, hiking, sci-fi, video games, thrift shopping, oldies music, and all things Halloween. I can't seem to stop adding things to my watch list even though I watch Parks & Rec and Bob's Burgers on repeat. “Feel the fear and do it anyway” is a quote that changed my life and has led to some really awesome experiences so far…including skydiving and swimming with sharks! Who knows what’s next?